


ruminations

by ianplease



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Christmas Fluff, M/M, Sugawara is a stressed college student, and Daichi goes to a different university
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:34:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21962932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ianplease/pseuds/ianplease
Summary: Sugawara is really busy with university and doesn't feel the holiday spirit when Sawamura decides to surprise him.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji & Sugawara Koushi, Moniwa Kaname & Sugawara Koushi, Oikawa Tooru & Sugawara Koushi, Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi
Comments: 6
Kudos: 60
Collections: Secret Santa Haikyuu 2019





	ruminations

**Author's Note:**

  * For [nakamotosbff](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nakamotosbff/gifts).



> hello! this is my gift for naomi, who is @nakamotosbff on twitter and here on ao3! this entry is for the HQ Secret Santa 2019! I tried my best to make this soft, ehe.

Holiday decorations displayed at every store front and street, Christmas carols playing on speakers in convenience stores and malls, chilly temperatures staying consistent throughout the day-- Holiday season was truly thriving. Well, that is, for _almost_ everyone. 

Unfortunately, the life was being sucked away from Sugawara during this critical point of the semester. Deadlines were looming over him with several requirements waiting for his attention. Before he reached the sweet freedom of Christmas break, he absolutely _needed_ to submit all his major papers, go to his exams for both core and major subjects, and balance all his org work. It seemed simple enough until every day for the next two weeks had something he needed to attend to, with some days being absolutely jam-packed from morning until evening. 

With things being too much, Sugawara really wanted to stay inside his dorm room and sleep until the break was over. Unfortunately, his alarms kept going off and he kept getting messages from different point persons with regard to the sem ender events that were to be launched within this period of time. 

Sugawara _really_ wanted his requirements to magically write themselves _and_ for him to ace everything. It was extremely difficult to go through the motions of being a highly involved university student when you were burned out and at this point in time, Sugawara was _definitely_ burned out. He was so exhausted; he just wished he was in Sawamura’s arms but this was just about as possible as him getting any wink of sleep this next few days: it wasn’t going to happen. 

It’s not like he and Sawamura were officially even a _thing_ but Sugawara was just stressed beyond repair and he just wanted to _hold_ the person of his affections and to smother him in kisses. He wanted to fight the cold with Sawamura’s warmth-- not even in a sexual way, he just wanted to cuddle with Sawamura and be his little spoon. Sawamura knew what _exactly_ what to do when he was a tired mess like this--

But no, he needed to be strong. He needed to finish this semester since he’s already gotten so far. However, this didn’t mean that he would stop being a whiny bitch. 

“Moniwaaa,” Sugawara cooed while burying his face in his pillow. Moniwa looked at his roommate which much concern and gently patted him on the back. Sugawara then removed his face from the pillow and propped himself on his elbows, looking at Moniwa with sad eyes. “Why didn’t Daichi go to the same university with us--”

“Because he’s on scholarship there and he’s taking his dream course, remember? I know you miss him a lot but you gotta be strong, Suga.”

This was enough to snap Sugawara out of his whiny state-- Of course. The person he wanted to be with was in another university as a stepping stone to get closer to his dream job. Sawamura did all that he could to get to where he was now, and here was Sugawara, worrying over the littlest of things. 

“Right,” Sugawara nodded to himself and sat up, straightening his shoulders. He took a deep breath and flashed a smile at his roommate. “Thanks, Moniwa. I need to head over to work on my requirements now--”

“If you want tea, the thermos has hot water. I can help you prepare if you want,” he points to the door. “It’s the least I can do for you.”

“Thanks, really.” Sugawara laughs and stretches out his arms to Moniwa’s direction. “Help me stand up, pleaaase?” 

“Nah,” Moniwa laughed. “You do that yourself.” 

* * *

Sugawara was unsure on what to do; he was really stressed. Sure, he was managing to write his papers and review his readings to study for exams but there was still that longing lingering about in his psyche. It was also finals season for Sawamura so Sugawara didn’t want to display these feelings at the degree that he was feeling them, after all, he didn’t want to add to the stress his (not) boyfriend was dealing with already. At least the tea Moniwa helped make was helping soothe his nerves; Moniwa was surprisingly an expert at brewing tea leaves.

Sugawara decided to take a break to rest his eyes and massaged his temples. Nothing from his political science readings were making sense at that point anyway, so it was the perfect time to release the tension building up in his system. Was it not enough that he and Sawamura called each other when they could? Sure, it was reassuring to hear his voice and his laugh, to see his face on his smartphone screen but it was still _different_ to have him there _physically--_ Okay, maybe Sugawara was too shy to admit it, but he was _very_ touch deprived. It wasn’t helping that Mitski’s discography was playing on Spotify at that very moment to amp his neediness.

_I’ll be okay._

-

Of course, Sugawara _did_ manage to get through hell weeks like this. It just came with all the spikes in energy which drained him. Regardless, he couldn’t muster the strength sometimes to sustain this willpower. 

He ended up taking a nap around two hours in his study session, his head awkwardly resting on crossed arms atop one of the communal study area desks. No one bothered to wake him up since this was a common occurrence every hell week; it was a silent rule that no one was to wake them up for a twenty five minute period maximum in the event of this situation. 

As the three other people at the table continued to study and let him sleep, a message notification popped up on the screen of Sugawara’s smartphone while the standard ring tone chirped. The content preview was hidden, but the name was flashed on the screen. _Daichi_ which was accompanied by a star emoji. Despite the phone ringing consecutively for a few messages, Sugawara didn’t stir from his nap, and the people sharing the table with him ended up peering at the screen.

The male sitting to Sugawara’s right, Oikawa, was closest to the phone and chuckled at the notification. He exchanged looks with Akaashi and Moniwa, who were the other two studying at that table. 

“Suga’s been really clingy and whiny recently, right, Moniwa?” 

“Mhm,” he sighs with an exasperated smile on his face. “He really misses Sawamura and I understand; it’s hard when you’re away from the person you’re seeing after all.”

Oikawa nodded and looked over at Sugawara, sighing softly. He was worried about his friend but he agreed with Moniwa; it’s difficult when you’re doing all that you can to get through all your responsibilities when your feelings take over and start being overwhelming. Akaashi feels the vibe and looks up from his readings once more. 

“Do you want me to wake him up?” his tone is concerned despite it reflecting his usual cool demeanor. “It’s been around twenty minutes since he’s fallen asleep. He might panic if he sleeps more than half an hour, especially since he has a deadline later.”

The two looked at Akaashi with surprised eyes. “How’d you know that?”

“It’s written on the sticky notes on his yellow pad,” he points at the open notepad, which was near Sugawara’s left. “And it's one of the five alarms he set earlier when we were all about to study. He told me to remind him too in case he slacked off.” 

He took the silence as a yes, so Akaashi gently nudged on Sugawara’s elbow, hoping this would be sufficient to wake him up. Fortunately, it garnered a groan from Sugawara, but he was still resisting to fully wake up. 

“Wake up, Suga! You got texts from Daichi--”

Sugawara started to stir, groggily blinking his eyes as he struggled to fight the urge to fall back asleep. _Wake up_. Everything was still blurry, but a few seconds later, his gaze finally refocused and he couldn’t stifle a yawn.

“Wow, when we mention Daichi, you don’t even hesitate to move--”

“Shut up,” he raised his middle finger at Oikawa. ”If I find out you’re playing a joke on me, I’m gonna turn off my hotspot so you can’t use netflix when you next visit.”

Oikawa scrunched his nose and stuck his tongue out at Sugawara. “Nah, you won’t do that, you love me!”

“Try me, bitch.”

Moniwa’s eyes widened and he quickly tried to appease cranky Sugawara and told Oikawa off for being his usual self at a sensitive time for their friend. Sugawara tiredly smiled at Moniwa and reached for his phone, the sparkle returning to his eyes when he saw the notifications on his homescreen. He quickly typed in his password and checked the messages.

Moniwa sighed a sigh of relief upon seeing his friend appeased while Oikawa had a little grin on his lips. Meanwhile, Akaashi was significantly calmer than earlier upon gauging Sugawara’s replenished energy.

The smile on Sugawara’s lips eventually turned into a full blown grin, a warm pink evident on his cheeks. 

_“Hi, dear. I hope you remember to eat properly and that you drink water!! Iced coffee is not a meal substitute ok i’m going to fight u if you don’t properly eat >:( _

_But legit, sorry I haven’t messaged all day; I had presentations left and right today. I know it’s also finals season for you, so reply when you can :) I’m just here._

_And before you can retort, you’re still cute even if you’re stressed. But damn, you should catch up on sleep when you can, okay? See you soon! <3 _

He quickly started typing his replies as he felt warmth radiate from his chest. Yes, he was definitely going to be okay. He had to, for himself, his friends, his family, and Sawamura. 

* * *

“I really wish you were here with me now,” Days later, finals were over and Sugawara’s first instinct was to call Sawamura; he knew that Sawamura’s finals ended before his and he asked about his schedule, so this wasn’t a complete surprise. Sawamura managed to pick up after a few rings and Sugawara felt like he was going to burst into tears at the simple “Soon, dear.” 

Sugawara started venting about the final; primarily it was him trying to articulate what he’s learned and condensing everything in little bits and pieces so Sawamura could easily comment on them as well. In response, Sawamura would reassure Sugawara as well as discuss how finals went for him, returning the level of energy that Sugawara was sharing with him. 

The conversation went on, and without really realizing it, Sugawara found himself walking to the favorite bench that he and Sawamura would often talk at when they were meeting at his university. The feeling of the cool wind against his face was helping him calm down as well, and the patterns drawn over the bench were familiar and lulled him into a state of relaxation. 

“Imagine that, we managed to survive this horrible semester--”

“Yeah, it’s a miracle honestly,” Daichi paused. “Oi, you need to rest, alright? I know you’ve been busy with your acads and org work, so I’m sure you haven’t been sleeping well. Sleep early later, okay?” 

“What are you, my mom?” It slipped out of Sugawara’s lips without much thought and on the other side of the line, he heard Sawamura laughing. It felt nice, he thought, to have someone be there even if he was being a whiny bitch. 

“Just looking after you, babe.”

Sugawara froze. He felt the tips of his ears grow warm at the nickname-- _babe?_

“Shit, sorry-- Uh,” panic was evident in Sawamura’s voice, with all the stuttering and blabbering that followed suit. Sugawara was still in shock, but he couldn’t help but be the one to laugh this time around. He couldn’t contain the huge smile that was painted on his face and he couldn’t contain the warmth that blossomed in his chest. 

“You’re so cute; It’s fine, babe.”

An awkward pause was shared by the two of them until they both burst out into laughter. The laughter went on for a few more minutes until both of them finally calmed down. Sawamura was the first to speak again. 

“I’m glad to know you didn’t disown me with the nickname.”

“Never will even if it’s cheesy as fuck.” Sugawara couldn’t contain his laughter again and these laughs sounded like music to Sawamura’s ears. 

“I’m happy." A chuckle on the other line. "By the way, Suga, you still on campus?”

“Huh? Yeah, I’m not going home ‘til next week,” Sugawara heaves a sigh. “I literally just finished my final around fifteen minutes ago and I think I need to sleep for the entirety of three days then rise again like Jesus”

“Good--” Daichi’s voice ends up sounding panicked at the realization of what he agreed to. “I mean, I certainly _hope_ you don’t sleep for three entire days and be in a coma-like state only for you to rise like Jesus. Eight hours for a night is enough, I think. But yeah, rest up, Suga.”

Sugawara laughs once more and manages to squeeze out a reply in between breaths. “I will, don’t worry. I don’t think I can sleep that long, it was just an exaggeration. But my exhaustion can probably make me meet that length of sleep. I don’t know. I just really want to sleep, Daichi.”

Silence on the other side of the line, which was followed by the faint sound of students laughing in the background. 

“Daichi, are you still there?”

“Yeah, Suga. Oh and turn around.” 

Sugawara was surprised at this-- why did Sawamura want him to to turn around? But because he was tired and curious as to what turning around would entail, he did it anyway. However, aside from a pair of footsteps, Sugawara wasn’t able to really notice anything out of the blue. A bunch of students were walking around and they all had an air of tiredness and relief to them. Some of them were hollering while others were just practically dragging themselves to get home or to submit papers. What was he supposed to be looking at? He raised an eyebrow, obviously confused.

“Daichi, I don’t see why--”

And before he knew it, he was surprised by a hug from behind; a familiar feeling of warmth pressed against his back, his shoulders being wrapped around a pair of strong arms that weren’t too rough. Sugawara was stuck in place, unable to process everything. 

“I-- Daichi, I--”

“I did tell you soon, didn’t I?”

“What the fuck,” Sugawara couldn’t help it, but tears were rolling down his cheeks, his lips turned over into a smile. He tried to adjust himself, with him now facing Sawamura. Was it really true? Was this the person of his affections _hugging_ him in the middle of the university quad at their favorite place on campus? Because of the rush of emotion, Sugawara wasn’t able to pocket his phone and immediately proceeded to cup Sawamura’s face with his free hand.

“Daichi, how-- how did you manage to sneak past the guards?”

“As if they don’t already know me, silly.” Sawamura gave a little smooch on Sugawara’s nose. Sugawara rolled his eyes at this and Daichi chuckles. “But in all honesty, I had a little help from a few friends”

Sugawara raised an eyebrow at this statement and felt his cheeks grow warm at the kiss. He couldn’t help but do the same, unable to contain the flurry of emotions that was overtaking him at that moment-- happiness, surprise, tiredness, and warmth among others. 

“It was Oikawa, wasn’t it?”

“And Moniwa. And Akaashi.” Sawamura pressed his forehead against Sugawara’s and smiled at him gently. “I missed you so much. Merry Christmas, love. Sorry I couldn’t be here any sooner, I missed the first train I was planning on taking to get here.”

“It’s fine; if anything, I wasn’t really expecting for you to be here so soon!” It felt so _natural_ to be in Sawamura’s arms, so warm. Sugawara couldn’t wipe that grin off his face and for a few moments, he admired how _gentle_ Sawamura looked. Once the things Sawamura said finally processed, Sugawara spoke once more. “And I’m guessing you want to be official given that you called me your love?”

“Mhm,” Sawamura nods solemnly, his cheeks a soft shade of pink. “I do.”

“Merry Christmas, love.” It felt nice, calling Sawamura his love. He liked the way the word rolled off his tongue so naturally; it was as if it was made for him.

“You’re my love. Mine,” he chuckles. “Thank you, Daichi. I love you so much.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed reading! Happy holidays, everyone! 
> 
> Shameless plug: feel free to talk to me or follow me on my anitwt! @daichistan


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